FBCC - Second Serving

Ecclesiastes 2:18–23: He Will Be Master of All for Which I Toiled As King Solomon begins to close the introductory section of Ecclesiastes, he brings greater depth to an observation that cannot really be disputed. Yet it is routinely ignored because of what it means for the lives we are building. Solomon has plainly stated that everything done under the sun is vanity. He does not mean that everything is meaningless or that nothing can be enjoyed. He means that nothing gained under the curse can be held forever. We may enjoy what we accomplish. We may benefit from what we obtain. We may take pleasure in the work of our hands. But death eventually resets our ownership and control over all of it. Solomon now considers the reverberating effects death has upon every work, possession, and achievement a person gains. Everything must eventually be left to someone else. It is no longer mine. Apart from their relationship to me, the person who receives it did not perform the work requir...

Ecclesiastes 2:12–17 All Will Have Been Long Forgotten Introduction This section of Scripture, absent any rebuttal of hope, is a sobering and saddening passage. Not because it is unnecessarily bleak or depressing, but because it exposes a truth and reality that we do not naturally want to consider. King Solomon has already examined pleasure, possessions, labor, accomplishment, and wealth. He now turns his attention to something that truly does possess value: wisdom itself. Unlike many of the pursuits Solomon has already considered, wisdom is not dismissed because it offers no benefit. Wisdom genuinely improves life. It helps us make better decisions, avoid unnecessary suffering, properly use our resources, and prepare for what may come tomorrow. Yet even wisdom cannot overcome the greatest problem humanity faces. Death still comes to both the wise and the foolish, and after enough time has passed, both will be forgotten (Ecclesiastes 2:12–17). Solomon is not teaching us to despise...

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 This Was My Reward for All My Toil Introduction Chapter 2 details King Solomon’s exploration of pleasure, wisdom, madness, and folly. Together, these form a two part approach that leads him toward his conclusion about what is good for humanity to do under the sun during the situation in which we find ourselves. The first eleven verses document his pursuit of pleasure and the reward he found at the end of it. Solomon did not begin this pursuit as a man who lacked wisdom, power, wealth, access, or opportunity. He had nearly every resource a person could desire. He was able to test pleasure at a level that few people before or after him could ever reach. He did not merely imagine what wealth, achievement, entertainment, and unrestricted desire might provide. He obtained them and experienced them for himself. His conclusion should cause us to consider how we are living now. It should help us recognize false investments and prevent us from demanding that temporary t...